THE READING QUESTION
The usefulness of feedback depends on what it directs attention toward, how it can be acted on, and what happens in the next attempt.
The review's caution
Kluger and DeNisi synthesized research on feedback interventions and performance. The work is relevant because feedback does not produce one uniform effect across all conditions. It should not be read as proof that more feedback is always better, or that a self-reported learning orientation predicts how a participant will use a particular message.
A comment that provides no next action
Imagine a fictional writer receiving the feedback that a document needs to be more strategic. The phrase may sound important but does not identify what to change. The writer could spend hours altering tone without improving the decision the document supports. A more useful conversation specifies the intended audience, the missing comparison, or the assumption that needs evidence. The feedback becomes actionable when it connects an observation with a task-relevant revision.
The recipient also needs a chance to ask what the comment means and to test the revision. Feedback delivered after the work is no longer revisable may still inform future tasks, but that transfer should not be assumed. A record of the original goal, the observation, the proposed change, and the next result can reveal whether the message helped. It can also show when the advice was incomplete or inappropriate.
Learning Orientation without blame
Machiavelli Learning Orientation can prompt reflection on seeking, interpreting, and using feedback. It should not label a participant as resistant because they question vague or contradictory advice. A lower response may reflect previous feedback that was unhelpful or a setting where asking questions carried a cost. The report should examine a specific exchange and distinguish openness to information from uncritical acceptance of every comment.
A study of feedback use
An original study could compare feedback messages that differ in specificity while keeping the task and initial work constant. Researchers could observe which revisions participants make and whether those revisions address the stated goal. Questionnaire responses could be examined alongside those behaviors, with prior skill and comprehension considered separately. Report studies should ask whether suggested actions improve the quality of feedback conversations rather than simply increasing their frequency. The practical aim is an informative loop between observation, action, and result. A favorable attitude toward feedback is not enough if the message gives the learner no usable way forward.
FOLLOW THE ORIGINAL SOURCES
Kluger and DeNisi (1996) ↗